Macgregor was the squadron operations officer who essentially directed the battle of 73 easting during the gulf war. Vince crawley the morning after the battle of 73 easting, soldiers of g troop and a mascot mingle beside a cross erected for a memorial service for sgt. It was named for a utm northsouth coordinate line an easting, measured in kilometers and readable on gps receivers in. What if russians fought in gulf war instead of iraqis.
Macgregor s cougars did it at 73 easting, but it all starts with the guts to accept criticism. Macgregor puts you at 73 easting and lets the reader experience lethal combat in the desert. This paper is based on rsearch for bourques book jayhawk. A version of this paper was presented at the twelfth annual ohio valley history conference, 1719 october 1996. I would not call it perfect as much as extremely successful. The battle of 73 easting was a decisive tank battle fought on 26 february 1991, during the gulf war, between united states armored forces of the vii corps and those of the iraqi republican guard and its tawakalna division.
Taken by surprise, the defending iraqi armor brigade was swept away in. One is the inspiring tale of the valiant american soldiers, sergeants, lieutenants, and captains who fought and won the battle. Twentyfive years ago, the battle of 73 easting pit just part of the u. Of these, none was more important than the battle of 73 easting.
To make a book, rather than a pamphlet, the author gives biographical sketches of dozens of the men who participated in the battle, and it was good to read them, good to know these fine men. Eagle troop and the battle of 73 easting and the documentary the last great tank battle of the 20th century, the battle of 73 easting was fought on feb. M1 abrams battle of 73 easting, gulf war 1991 video. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. The tactics that army units use to fight future battles will vary considerably from those employed in. The vii corps during the persian gulf war, scheduled for publication by the us army center of military history. Resources and information for marine corps university expeditionary warfare school ews students. Armys 2nd armored cavalry regiment against saddam husseins elite iraqi republican guard. Air force and modeled on the postworld war ii strategic bombing survey. See chapter which describes the battle of 73 easting.
Known as the battle of 73 easting, after the northtosouth running map line it occurred on in iraq, the persian gulf war clash on feb. Til the last great tank battle of the 20th century took. Maps battle of 73 easting the gulf war frontline pbs. As a young captain, mcmaster commanded one of the most. Second, macgregor demonstrates the clear distinction between warriors and battlefield bureaucrats. The gulf war was, in many ways, a model of american military efficiency. Gulf war explains why the war came about, how it was fought, and why it turned out the way it did. The first gulf war began on january 17, 1991, when coalition forces, led by. Expertly written, informative, and thoughtful, this analysis will be insightful and interesting for all high school, undergraduate, and general readers. On 26 february 1991, cavalry troops of cougar squadron, the 2nd squadron of the 2nd armored cavalry regiment, charged out of a sandstorm during operation desert storm and caught iraqs republican guard corps in the open desert along the northsouth grid line of a military map referred to as the 73 easting. Army 10 lessons from the battle of 73 easting the division will succeed only as the.
While the timeline of most wars is marked off in years, even decades, desert. Unless otherwise noted, primary documents and unit afteraction reports are located in the vii corps after action report located at the combined arms center historical archives, fort leavenworth, ks. First, the book dispells any notion that the gulf war was easy. So a quick explanation for those who dont know what. Introduction two days into the coalition ground war in kuwait and iraq, phase iv of operation desert storm, the armour of third armys vii corps attacked iraqs republican guard and other armour brigades in a series of battles, fortyone hours in duration, that commenced with the battle at 73 easting.
Professional papers and journal articles artillerymen in actionthe 2d acr at the battle of 73 easting. I am reading about 73 easting and i believe there was times the us tanks units got bumrushed by iraqi infantry only to be driven back to bradleys and airstrikes. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. What the gulf war tells us about the future of conflict. The great tank battle of 73 easting ebook written by douglas macgregor. The great tank battle of 73 easting and joins us here in studio 3a. Immortalized in mike guardias book the fires of babylon. The ability to adapt under fire is the key to winning. The battles name refers to a particular northsouth line on a map in the.
The 1991 persian gulf war was the first of americas conflicts where a large, standing military force was maintained, equipped, and trained to be ready for the early battles of a major regional conflict. The battle of 73 easting is case in point as brilliantly recounted in warriors rage by doug macgregorone of the young officers in the battle. The battle of 73 easting was fought on 26 february 1991, during the persian gulf war, between the armoured forces of the united states as well as the 1st armoured division of the united kingdom and those of the iraqi republican guard and its tawakalna division. Armour tactics at the battle of 73 easting, 26 february. The iraqis hoped to delay vii cops long enough to allow their forces in kuwait to escape. Specifically the battle of 73 easting, but the 1st gulf war in general was a decisive defat of the iraqi military, with very little loss of personnel and material. Mcmaster found himself in iraq during the gulf war to intervene against theniraqi dictator saddam husseins incursion on kuwait. Expeditionary warfare school ews resources and information for marine corps university expeditionary warfare school ews students. My explanation of this outcome draws heavily on two new sources of information on the conduct of the war. Vilseck, germany of the battles that defined the gulf war, few encapsulate the sense of outright superiority the u. Mostly as a result of cold warera preparations for general war with the soviet union, american forces were the best trained in the world, superbly. It was named for a utm northsouth coordinate line an easting, measured in kilometers and readable on gps receivers in the. The author links together detailed accounts of eagle troops battle of 73 easting derived from personal interviews and memoirs of soldiers from eagle troop to give a minutebyminute account ofthe battle. They are reproduced here with the permission of the publisher houghton mifflin.
The size and significance of land battles in the first gulf war were not widely appreciated until a decade later. The book sets the record straight on a number of popular misconceptions about the war. Douglas macgregor, the man who trained and led cougar squadron into battle, recounts two stories. During the battle of 73 easting, welltrained american and british troops with m1a1 and challenger 1 main battle tanks defeated iraqis with older t55s, t62s and t72s. In one of the key resulting battles, the battle of 73 easting. Individual and unit experiences in the same battle often vary widely. Was this due to severe discrepancy in technology ir sightsnight visiondepleted uranium rounds, training of troops use of hull down tactics or strategicoperational planning. The battle of 73 easting was the first salvo in the last major tank battle of the cold war, indeed, what turned out to be the largest tank battle since the battle of kursk in july 1943. An iraqi t62 destroyed by 3rd armored division fire during the gulf war s battle of 73 easting in february 1991. The battle of 73 easting a northsouth grid line on the map was one of many fights in desert storm. The tank battle that came to define the early career of.
Gps and the worlds first space war scientific american. Mostly as a result of cold war era preparations for general war with the. Facing an iraqi republican guard opponent, macgregor led two troops or 19 tanks, 26 bradleys and 4 mortar tracks through the sandstorm to the 73 easting at roughly 16. The battle of 73 easting is a feat of american arms unparallelled in modern warfare. Was the 1991 gulf war battle of 73 easting as close to a. This book focuses on the exploits of eagle troop in the 2nd armored cavalry regiment in the battle of 73 easting in the 100hour ground war at the end of operation desert storm. Eagle troop and the battle of 73 easting guardia, mike, fred franks foreword on. The vii corps during the persian gulf war, published by the us army center of military history in 2002. Two brigades of the republican guard were destroyed, and it was the guards first ground defeat. There was a death, a commander of a bradley, and there was another bradley knocked out by friendly fire, but luckily no one died. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Features detailed and accurate accounts of every major ground action of the gulf war.
1548 1310 347 705 63 1112 38 328 583 661 272 10 893 908 1416 996 501 1363 971 8 1003 826 746 786 1176 1283 94 591 1097 541 18 1287 1472 1482 1243 826 347 292 1005